QuestionQUESTION: I had an abortion in early October and I have been on birth control since my 2 week check up. I am now waiting on my cycle to come and it hasn't come yet. But, at the same time I experience pregnancy sysmptoms every now and then. Is this normal or do I need to go get checked by a doctor asap?
ANSWER: Dear N,
Don't worry, all your symptoms are completely normal.
When you are pregnant, your body produces a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HcG). This hormone is responsible for causing all the signs and symptoms of pregnancy, like nausea, breast tenderness, frequent urination, food cravings, bloating, stopping of menstrual periods, etc.
If the pregnancy is ended early by a miscarriage or abortion, it takes a long time for HcG to be completely removed from your system - up to six months, in fact. But while some HcG is still there, you will continue to experience the symptoms of pregnancy. In fact, you may even get a false positive result on a home pregnancy test if you take it within 8 weeks after the abortion. Your symptoms should taper off within about 4 months. There is nothing to worry about.
Once the HcG falls to a certain level, you will start ovulating and having periods, but the presence of the HcG will cause your cycle to be very irregular for the next 3-4 months at least. You may have missed periods, early periods, late periods, heavy periods, light periods, spotty periods... It's all normal in the first few months after an abortion. For this reason, the rhythm method of birth control will not work at all, and you will need to use a reliable form of contraception - such as condoms along with a spermicidal jelly - so that you don't become pregnant again. As a rough guide to when you can expect your period, most (80%) of women ovulate between 3-6 weeks after an abortion, which means most women will have their first period between 5-8 weeks after the abortion. For some women it can be earlier, and for others, it can be later. If you have not had a period for 12 weeks after your abortion, THEN you might want to consult a doctor. Now it's far too early to be worried.
Take care and come back here if you have more questions.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: But, now I am having lower bcak pains but the test came back negative and my cycle still hasn't started. i am so nervous and right now don't want to be pregnant again because I can't afford a second child right now.
AnswerCalm down. It's very natural to feel nervous like this, especially since you are experiencing pregnancy symptoms, but please be assured that you are NOT pregnant, unless of course you have had unprotected sex two weeks or more after the abortion, in which case there is a chance.
Like I said, the pregnancy hormone in your system will take SIX MONTHS to completely leave your body. In the meantime, you can experience many pregnancy symptoms caused by this hormone. Most of these symptoms will go away within 3-4 months, but some may last longer.
Your period will be completely unpredictable for the next 3-4 months also. It can take up to 10-12 weeks for you to have your first period, and even then you might not even notice it because it could be just light spotting that you may not consider to be a proper period. Don't worry. Even after you have your first period, there is no way to predict when your second period will happen, or the third, or maybe even the fourth. It can be late or early, heavy or light, spotty or even missed altogether. Your cycle is very unstable right now. THIS IS COMPLETELY NORMAL.
Take a deep breath and please be assured that every symptom you have is normal and expected.
